Are the Thunder still favorites to win the West?

Allow me to recap the Thunder’s last nine months as quickly as possible:

They traded James Harden to Houston in exchange for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and a lottery pick. They went on to win 60 games securing homecourt advantage in the West, notch a near historic margin of victory, finish top five in both offense and defense, then take a mostly effortless 2-0 series lead over the Rockets in round one.

Then Russell Westbrook — one of the eight best players on planet earth — got hurt and the Thunder scratched their way to finishing off the Rockets, then fell to the Grizzlies in five games, with the series being excruciatingly close, but at the same time developing a potential bench stud in Reggie Jackson.

The offseason came, they drafted a project big with the No. 12 pick, let their third-leading scorer walk in free agency, flirted with a few names on the open market before ultimately deciding to trust in their plan and hope that Jackson and Lamb could handle business off the bench because, you know, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

The rest of the West spent the last month trying to catch up to the Thunder by making big moves and spending money on free agents. The Rockets got Dwight Howard, the Warriors got Andre Iguodala, the Clippers got J.J. Redick. All the meanwhile the Thunder still possess maybe the two best players in the entire conference on their own team.

The feeling is, though, that the Thunder have slipped behind. And maybe they have. They’re still trying to lock down Mike Miller and while they may or may not happen, a player like Miller will only serve to complement the team. It’s like him, or Dorell Wright, or Carlos Delfino are the missing pieces standing between the Thunder and a championship. I think what’s frustrated some is the appearance that the Thunder aren’t doing anything while other teams are doing something. As if the Thunder’s roster is some sort of misshapen mess with holes and problems all over it.

That’s not to say anything is guaranteed for the Thunder. They still have to play the games and with the development and improvement they’ve shown the last few years, getting that taste of almost winning it all has turned everyone into championship zombies. Instead of braaaaaains, everyone wants rinnnnnngs. It’s title tunnel vision.

I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, because what’s the point of this whole thing? To win it all. But maintaining a perspective while still desperately wanting that is a tough balance. I’ve heard it from a lot — a lot — of fans that “the Thunder aren’t trying to win a championship.” Yes, Sam Presti is trying to mind the future as much as the present, but the team and front office wants it more than you do. They’re just in a more difficult position than you. They are actually the ones that have to live and answer their decisions.

The season is another couple of months away, but for the most part, we know what the West is going to look like. Trending up are the Warriors, Rockets, Timberwolves and maybe the Pelicans. Trending down are the Nuggets, Lakers and Jazz.

Where do the Thunder fit into that? With Kevin Martin gone — who experienced his highest level of popularity in OKC when he signed somewhere else — some feel the Thunder are going to slip. In fact, three out of five writers say the Thunder aren’t the Western favorite in an ESPN.com 5-on-5. (One of the two that did? Me.)

The other person that went with OKC, Ramona Shelburne, said this:

Such a boring choice, I know. But with Russell Westbrook healthy you have to give the nod to last season’s regular-season champ again. Losing sixth man Kevin Martin to Minnesota hurts, but Reggie Jackson is due for a breakout year and will help mitigate some of the loss. And Kevin Durant is still miles away from his ceiling as a player.

I think that’s one of the more overlooked things about this Thunder team. Kevin Durant will turn 25 soon. Russell Westbrook is 24. Serge Ibaka and Reggie Jackson are 23. The reason the Thunder have gone from 20 wins to 23 wins to 50 to eventually 60 last season hasn’t been because of offseason moves or by signing players. It’s been because their young players have gotten better. And guess what: Westbrook, Durant, Ibaka, Jackson and all those young guys are going to be better next season.

The West does feel pretty open. Along with the rising teams, the Spurs are the Spurs, the Grizzlies will be solid and the Clippers are better. I will say this: The Thunder had an opportunity to take a stranglehold on the conference for the next five years, but now it’s more open.

We’ll never know what would’ve happened with last season’s team. We don’t know what’s going to happen with this season’s. But I do know this: As long as No. 0 and No. 35 are playing, the Thunder have a very good chance.

Watching Kevin Martin play was like watching a roller coaster... up and down, up and down, up and down and so on.. Think about this: When Russell Westbrook first got to OKC he was coming off the bench for Earl Watson. They said he wasn't ready to be the starter but Earl Watson was the better choice..it sounds comical now. The point is this, you never know what Jeremy Lamb, PJ3, Steven Adams, any of these players who have yet to show anybody what they are truly capable of are going to be this time next year. We could be laughing at this exact moment next year saying, "I can't believe Jeremy Lamb hardly got playing time when Kevin Martin was on the team." I have great feelings about Lamb and Adams.. I think this team is just fine and still one of the biggest headaches for the other 31 teams in the league. Like the article said, as long as #0 and #35 are on the court and healthy, this team is going to be great.

I really think the thunder should sign Steven Jackson. He is a vet with playoffs Games/wins/mins, has good d and can hit a outside shot also can create his own shot and just might be some type of motivation to perk since they are good friends and both from texas cut thabeet sign jackson then hands down thunder would be best in the west

If Russell's knee is okay---then I'm picking OKC to win the West. Royce is right. KD will be better. Russ will be better. Serge will be better. Reggie will be better. Those four players have yet to reach their ceilings. I do think though...Presti still has to find that one veteran who is the last piece to winning an NBA championship. Not totally sure who that player is...but OKC still is one role player shy.

I am not saying OKC is not a Finals contender anymore but to say the team is making improvements in coaching and player talent would not be the truth either. So much relies on Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson.

@ESPNSteinLine: To the surprise of no one who knows them, @KDTrey5 and @kevinlove couldn't bear to be in the gym on the campus of UNLV and not play. So ...As soon as Team USA finished camp practice, Durant asked for proper socks, threw on some neon green KDs and joined Love for shooting drills.

@DanielLawler You are clueless. Harden was not going to sign. Period. We offered him a near max 4 yr deal and he turned it down. He did not want to be a 6th man, he wanted to BE the man. Houston could give him the 5yr max deal he wanted, we got what we could. No trade, we get Harden for another season and he walks at the end of the yr and we get nothing. Money was not the issue. Harden was NOT staying in OKC.

@DanielLawler There was no way the Thunder were going to be able to offer the money that Harden got and been able to keep going. I agree it was a bad choice letting him go, but at the same time you have to remember that money becomes the main objective. In a small market like OKC money can become scarce if you're trying to pay three players max contracts.